Method of securing materials to each other



June 16, 1959 M. SIEGEL METHOD OF SECURING MATERIALS TO EACH OTHER Filed March 16. 1956 FIG. 2

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ATTORNEYS p 2,890,541 lc Patented June 16, 1959 IVIETHOD OF SECURING MATERIALS TO EACH OTHER Martin Siegel, Roslyn, N .Y., assignor to Aristocrat Leather roducts, Inc., New York, N .Y., a corporation of New ersey Application March 16, 1956, Serial No. 571,995

6 Claims. (Cl. 41-24) This invention relates generally to an ornamental applique assembly and method of making the same.

The primary aim and object of the present invention is the provision of a generally simplified, efiicient and relatively inexpensive method of directly attaching or securing a raised metallized plastic element or ornament to plastic sheet material.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a method of directly attaching or securing a metallized plastic element, which is normally non-heat scalable to plastic material, to the latter without the use of external retainers or capturing members and without the use of adhesives or penetrating fastening means.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a securing method of the aforenoted character which can be practiced by the utilization of the conventional apparatus.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of an ornamental applique assembly, which is constituted by a metallized plastic element which is directly secured to a plastic sheet material member, which is estheticallly attractive in appearance, and which may be mass produced at low cost.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawing which illustrates the best mode now contemplated by me for carrying out my invention:

Fig. l is a plan view of a wallet embodying an ornamental applique assembly of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of a heat press showing plastic sheet material and an ornamental applique element positioned on the bed thereof preparatory to the securing operation;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the area 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the securing die taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view show ing the securing die in relation to the Work positioned on the bed of the heat press immediately prior to the securing operation;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3 and showing the securing die in its fully extended position in relation to the ornamental applique assembly;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of the ornamental applique assembly or panel of the wallet shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 3 thereof, the wallet 10' is provided with an ornamental applique assembly or panel 10 which is formed pursuant to the present invention, said applique assembly comprising a plastic sheet material member 12 having an ornamental applique element 14 secured in position on the surface of said member, said applique element being formed of a material which is normally nonheat scalable to the sheet material member. The sheet material member 12 may be formed of any suitable plastic material, for example a vinyl plastic, and said member may be of any desired determinate or indeterminate peripheral contour. The applique element 14 is of predetermined peripheral edge contour 16 and is provided with a raised surface contour so that the applique assembly has an esthetically attractive three-dimensional effect. The raised surface contour of the applique element 14 may be formed in any suitable manner, for example by a vacuum molding operation, and said applique element is formed of a metallized sheet material, the latter being coated with metallic particles in any well known conventional manner, for example, and not by way of limitation, by a vacuum plating process. The plastic sheet material which is metallized by being plated with the metal particles, may be formed of any suitable plastic material, for example butyrate, acetate or polystyrene. The ornamental applique element 14 may have any desired peripheral edge contour 16 and the specific contour illustrated is given by way of example only.

The securement between the applique element 14 and the member 12 is essentially a mechanical securement and the peripheral edge 16 of the element 14 and adjacent portions of the member 12 have interengaged portions 18 and 20, respectively which provide for the securement of the applique element in position on the surface of the sheet material member. Extending transversely between the rib formations 22, defined by said interengaged portions, in laterally spaced relation are the raised portions 24 and 26 of the applique element 14, said raised portions 24 being in interengaging relation with the underlying rib portions 27 of the member 12 as best shown in Fig. 7. The primary retention or strength of securement between the applique element and the sheet material member is achieved by means of the series of spaced rib formations 22, and the interengaged portions 24 and 27 provide secondary and supplementary retention between such parts. There will also be a rela tively small degree of surface cohesion between the applique element and the sheet material member along the peripheral edge 16 of the applique element. Accordingly, the primary strength of securement between the applique element and the member is achieved by means of the series of rib formations 22 which extend peripherally of said element, said rib formations being constituted by portions 18 of element 14 which define recesses 19 for the reception of the portions 20. It will be noted that the portions 20 are larger than the openings 28 of recesses 19 whereby to prevent said portions 20 from being withdrawn through said openings to provide a firm securement between the applique element and the sheet material member. The portions 32 along the peripheral edge 16 of element 14 are indented and said indentations and the intervening rib formations 22 are uniformly spaced along said peripheral edge. Accordingly, the peripheral indented portions 32 are surrounded or framed by the rib formations 22 and the raised portions 24 and 26. The underside 34 of the assembly 10 is provided with a series of indentations 36 which are in registry with the indented portions 32 and the registered indentations are formed by the securing die to be described in detail hereinafter during the operation of securing the applique element to the sheet material member. The applique element is secured to the sheet material member by the method now to be described in detail.

The apparatus 40 shown in Fig. 2, utilizes the practice of the present invention, includes a head 42 mounted at the end of the vertically reciprocable ram 44, and a stationary bed 46, it being understood that the ram is mounted for vertical reciprocation in any suitable manner whereby to vertically reciprocate the head 42 relative to its companion-stationary 'bed -46. Mounted on'the lower end of the head 42 is a die '48 which is adapted to mechanically secure the applique element to the sheet material member. The die 48 is provided with a series of laterally projecting flanges 50 which provide for the detachable mounting of the die to the head, said flanges beingsecured to said headby means of screws 52. The die 48 comprises a peripherally continuous wall 54 having a lower peripheral die edge 56, the latter being constituted'by aseries of projecting portions 58 with-recesses 60 intervening between each adjacent pair of projecting portions. A suitable heater 62 is provided in the head 42 of'the apparatus 40 for heating the die 48 to the desired operating temperature, said die being of the externally heated type.

The sheet material member 12 and the'applique element 14' are disposed in superposed relation on the bed 46 with said applique element being in registry with the peripheral edge 56 of the die 48. The ram 44 is reciprocated in a downward direction so as to reciprocate the die edge 56 into operative engagement with the work disposed on the bed, the engagement of the heated die edge with the peripheral edge of the element 14, which is of a contour corresponding to the contour of the edge 56, affecting a depression of portions of the element and member on the bed in registry with the projecting portions 58, the latter being sufficiently heated and reciprocated with sufficient pressure to cause material to flow in the recesses 60 between said projecting portions and to etfect an essentially mechanical interengagement between the portions 18 and 20, as described above. Accordingly, the heated-projecting portions 58 of the die affect a compression of the material between said projecting portions and the bed 46 to cause the material to flow into the die recesses 60 as .shown in Figs. 6 and 7 and to define the series of laterally spaced rib formations 22 which are constituted by the interengaged portions 18 and 29. The projecting portions 58 of the die also cause an outward flow of the heated material to form the raised portions 24 which are interengaged with the underlying rib portions 27 of the sheet material layer or member. The projecting portions 58 of the die also form the registered indentations 32 and 36 of the assembly. From the above it will therefore be apparent that the series 'of projecting portions 58 of the die are in effect compression members to squeeze or compress the superposed layers disposed on the bed of the apparatus with sufficient pressure and under suflicient heat to cause the material to flow into the recesses 60 of the die and to interlock in the manner described above in detail to provide an essentially mechanical securement between the applique element and the sheet material element along the peripheral edge of the applique element.

The sheet material member and the applique element are secured to each other in surface-to-surface relation and spaced surface portions of the applique element are indented as indicated at 32 into the recessed surface portion 33.01: the sheet material member adjacent the recesses 19 formed in situ in the surface of the applique element. The spaced portions 20 of the sheet material member are raised from the surface thereof and interfit withthe recesses 19. The securing die may be formed of any suitable heat conducting material and the wall 54 defines the internal recess 55 of the die. The heated die when pressed into operative engagement with the work indents .the applique element as indicated at 32 into the softened thermoplastic material of the sheet material member and the recesses 19 are simultaneously formed in the under surface of the applique element into which the heat softened thermoplastic material is forced to define the raised portion20 concomitantly with said indentation'of the applique element.

The applique element may have any predetermined peripheral edge contour and the lower edge 56 of the securing die will have a corresponding peripheral edge contour. It will be apparent that the above described method of directly attaching or securing a metallized plastic element, which is normally non-heat scalable to the plastic material member, to the latter eliminates the use of external retainers or capturing members and dispenses with the use of adhesives and penetrating fastening devices. The ornamental applique assembly may be used in any desired application, for example in the formation of wallet panels such as shown in Fig. l, vanity articles, and the like.

While I have shown and described the preferred .embodirnents of my invention, it will be understood that various changes may :be made in the present invention without departing from the underlying idea or principles of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The method of providing an ornamental applique 'element on the surface of a thermoplastic part with 'the applique element being normally non-heat sealable to said part, said method comprising positioning the applique element on said thermoplastic part, and applying heat and pressure at spaced points alongthe peripheral edge of said element to form interlocking portions of said element along said edge thereof with adjacent portions of said thermoplastic part to provide for the securement of said element in position on the surface of said thermoplastic part.

2. The method of providing an ornamental applique element on the surface of a thermoplastic part with the applique element being normally non-heat scalable to said part, and having apredetermined peripheral edge contour and raised surface contour, said method comprising positioning the applique element on said thermoplastic part with the peripheral edge of said element disposed inwardly of the outer edge of said thermoplastic part, and applying heat and pressure at spaced points along the peripheral edge of said element to form said edge contour, said edge contour comprising interlocking portions of said element along said edge thereof and adjacent portions of said thermoplastic part to provide for the securement of said element in position on the surface of said thermoplastic part.

3. The method of providing an ornamental applique element on the surface of a thermoplastic part with the applique element being normally non-heat scalable to said part, said method comprising positioning the applique element on said thermoplastic part, and applying a heated die having a predetermined peripheral edge contour to the peripheral edge of said element with sufficient pressure to form interlocking portions in said element along said edge thereof and in adjacent portions of said thermoplastic part to provide for the securement of said element in position on the surface of said thermoplastic part.

4. The method of providing an ornamental applique element on the surface of a thermoplastic part with the applique element being normally non-heat scalable to said part, and having a predetermined peripheral edge contour and raised surface contour, said method comprising :positioning the applique element on said thermoplastic part with the peripheral edge of said element disposed inwardly of the Outer edge of said thermoplastic .part, and applying a heated die having a peripheral edge contour corresponding to the peripheral edge contour of said applique element to the latter, with the peripheral edge contour of the die being in registry with the peripheral edge contour of said applique element, with suflicient pressure to interlock spaced portions of said element along said edge thereof with adjacent portions of said thermoplastic part to provide a series of laterally spaced rib formations along said edge in which complementary-portions of said thermoplastic part aIe'locked to provide for the securement of said element in position onthe surface of'said thermoplastic'part.

5. The method of securing an applique to thermoplastic material with which the applique is not heat-sealable, comprising placing said applique on the surface of said thermoplastic material, and applying heat and pressure to said thermoplastic material at spaced points by means of a hot die having a surface provided with portions having spaces or recesses between adjacent portions of the surface of the dies, the said portions of the die being pressed against the applique and thereby transmitting heat and pressure to the thermoplastic material to soften the latter and indent spaced portions of the applique into the thermoplastic material and to form spaced recesses in the undersurface of said applique into which the softened thermoplastic material is forced concommitantly with the indentation of the portions of the applique into the heatsoftened thermoplastic material, and to shape said recesses so as to lock the forced material therein.

6. A method according to claim 5, further characterized in that the applique has a peripheral edge and the spaced portions of the hot die are pressed against the marginal edge surface of the applique adjacent said peripheral edge thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 949,957 Falk Feb. 22, 1910 1,282,612 Massey Oct. 22, 1918 2,050,993 Bush Aug. 11, 1936 2,363,337 Kelly Nov. 21, 1944 2,596,572 Lindblorn May 13, 1952 2,599,916 Holden June 10, 1952 2,602,036 Sullivan July 1, 1952 2,638,430 Mann May 12, 1953 2,647,852 Franklin Aug. 4, 1953 2,688,581 Stubbs Sept. 7, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 683,029 France Feb. 24, 1930 756,783 Germany June 8, 1953 

